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Investigating associations between birth order and autism diagnostic phenotypes

Birth order effects have been linked to variability in intelligence, educational attainment and sexual orientation. First- and later-born children have been linked to an increased likelihood of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis, with a smaller body of evidence implicating decreases in cognitive functioning with increased birth order. The present study investigated the potential association between birth order and ASD diagnostic phenotypes in a large and representative population sample.

Autism and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Content in Highly Viewed TikTok Videos

Social media allows users to connect with others’ experiences and points of view, with TikTok being the fastest-growing platform worldwide. Highly viewed videos related to neurodiversity on TikTok have an increasing role in understanding and acceptance of neurodivergent individuals.

Celebrating kids and families with disability

On International Day for People with Disability this Sunday, The Kids Research Institute Australia celebrates the children and families we work with in our research, as we strive for better outcomes for kids with disability.

Autism

Characterised by varying degrees of difficulties in communication skills and social abilities, one in every 100 individuals will have a diagnosis of an autism spectrum condition. While autism is known to run in families, the exact causes remain unknown.

Frankie and Friends app

Researchers at The Kids Research Institute Australia and University of Western Australia have recently published data describing the use of an attention training game designed for school-aged children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Researchers call for the term ‘high functioning autism’ to be consigned to history

Autism researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia have called for the term ‘high functioning autism’ to be abandoned because of the misleading and potentially harmful expectations it creates around the abilities of children on the autism spectrum.

Study looks at fish oil as treatment for autism

The Kids Research Institute Australia research has shown nearly 50 per cent of children with autism have tried fish oil supplements, but does it actually improve symptoms?

The Kids researchers finalists in Premier’s Science Awards

The Kids Research Institute Australia has two researchers and an innovative science engagement initiative as finalists in the 2017 Premier’s Science Awards.

The Kids welcomes Federal Government’s commitment to early support

The Kids Research Institute Australia welcomes today’s Federal Government announcement of a new pilot program to support babies showing early social communication differences in Western Australia.

The valence-specific empathy imbalance hypothesis of autism: The role of autistic traits, alexithymia, emotion dysregulation, and gender differences

Individuals exhibiting pronounced autistic traits (e.g., social differences and specialised interests) may struggle with cognitive empathy (i.e., the ability to infer others' emotions), although the relationship with affective empathy (i.e., the ability to share others' emotions) is less clear in that higher levels of autistic traits may be linked with increased affective empathy for negative emotions but reduced affective empathy for positive emotions. The current study investigates this empathy profile and whether alexithymia and emotion dysregulation help to explain it.